The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced $3.375 million in Conservation Partnership Program grants, the largest amount of funding for this program to date, for 51 not-for-profit land trusts across the state. [Read more…] about $3.375 Million in Conservation Partnership Program Grants Awarded
environment
Prison In the Woods: Environment & Incarceration in Northern NY
The Adirondacks in Northern New York covers approximately 5,000 square miles. Widely known for its natural beauty, recreation opportunities and tourism, it may surprise many of those travelers to learn that the Adirondacks’ trails and amenities are intrinsically connected to New York’s carceral history. [Read more…] about Prison In the Woods: Environment & Incarceration in Northern NY
Recycling Electronics This Holiday Season
Many will give or receive new electronic equipment this holiday season. As you switch out of the old and welcome the new, remember to recycle your old electronics responsibly.
Examples of common electronic equipment that must be recycled: [Read more…] about Recycling Electronics This Holiday Season
A Guide to Green Gift Giving and Decorating
This is the perfect time of the year to add the environment to your gift giving list and implement simple holiday habit changes.
Here is a guide to “green” gift giving and decorating: [Read more…] about A Guide to Green Gift Giving and Decorating
Update On Grasse River Superfund Site Restoration
The Alcoa Massena-West Plant is an aluminum production plant on the north shore of the lower Grasse River. In the 1950s, Alcoa began using and discharging polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) into the Grasse River, contaminating water and sediment. [Read more…] about Update On Grasse River Superfund Site Restoration
DEC Conservation Partnership Program Grant Awardees
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced more than $2.2 million in Conservation Partnership Program grants for 50 not-for-profit land trusts across the state. [Read more…] about DEC Conservation Partnership Program Grant Awardees
175 Organizations Launch Coalition for Environmental Funding
More than 175 groups have launched a new coalition in an effort to protect funding for environmental programs. The programs support hundreds of thousands of jobs, protect clean drinking water, create new parks, help advance environmental justice, and work to mitigate the impacts of climate change. [Read more…] about 175 Organizations Launch Coalition for Environmental Funding
Adk Regional Airport Site Added to State Superfund Registry
The New York State Superfund Program, which identifies, investigates, and works to clean up sites where the disposal of hazardous waste may be a threat to public health, has added the Adirondack Regional Airport in the Adirondack Park at Saranac Lake to New York’s Registry of State Superfund Sites. [Read more…] about Adk Regional Airport Site Added to State Superfund Registry
Local Governments Urge Governor Cuomo to Sign Road Salt Bill
Local Government leaders are calling on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to sign into law a bi-partisan bill that would establish an Adirondack Road Salt Reduction Task Force and Pilot Program.
The Randy Preston Road Salt Reduction Act (S.8663a/ A.8767a) passed the NYS Assembly unanimously and received broad bipartisan support in the NYS Senate earlier this year. Now, the bill’s fate lies in the hands of Governor Cuomo. [Read more…] about Local Governments Urge Governor Cuomo to Sign Road Salt Bill
Cohoes Chemical Incinerator Communities Being Tested For Pollution
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos and Cohoes Mayor William Keeler have announced the start of a State soil and water sampling initiative to help determine if contaminants are present in communities around the Norlite facility in the city of Cohoes.
The sampling is in response to long-standing community complaints and a recent lawsuit about chemicals being incinerated at the plant, including aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF fire-fighting foam) containing Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), as well as other past practices of the facility. [Read more…] about Cohoes Chemical Incinerator Communities Being Tested For Pollution
Glens Falls Location Declared State Superfund Site
The New York State Superfund Program, which identifies, investigates, and works to clean up sites where the disposal of hazardous waste may be a threat to public health, has designated the location of W.F. Lake Corporation in Glens Falls, 65 Park Road, a Superfund Site. The company was founded in 1991.
“Recent environmental investigations have identified elevated concentrations of poly- and per-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS),” an announcement from DEC said. “These chemicals were released from the W.F. Lake facility and resulted in the potential for people to be exposed to site-related contaminants through direct contact with soils or contaminated surface water, and groundwater.” [Read more…] about Glens Falls Location Declared State Superfund Site
Road Salt Legislation Headed To Governor
The NYS Senate granted final legislative approval Thursday to a bi-partisan bill that is expected to help reduce road salt pollution and protect drinking water in the Adirondack Park. The Randy Preston Road Salt Reduction Act was passed in the NYS Assembly earlier this week and now heads to Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Adk Journal of Environmental Studies Submissions Sought
The Adirondack Journal of Environmental Studies (AJES) has announced it is now accepting submissions for Volume 24, to be published in the spring of 2021.
Articles of a broad disciplinary scope will be accepted for review, including topics in natural and social sciences, arts and humanities related to the region or more general environmental issues. [Read more…] about Adk Journal of Environmental Studies Submissions Sought
Newly Appointed Adirondack Park Leadership Remains Lopsided
The protection and planning for the Adirondack Park’s six million acres, one-fifth of the state, rests in large measure on the motivation and independence of the Adirondack Park Agency’s staff and board members in Ray Brook (APA).
Seven members were just nominated by Governor Andrew Cuomo and subsequently confirmed to sit at the APA’s table by the NY State Senate.
How should we think about them? How should we think about them in light of Governor Cuomo’s challenge to re-imagine and improve public policies and practices – to “build back better?” [Read more…] about Newly Appointed Adirondack Park Leadership Remains Lopsided
State Efforts Against EPA Rollbacks Applauded
The Adirondack Council has thanked New York Attorney General Letitia James, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos for standing up to the Trump administration’s rollbacks in environmental regulations and enforcement. [Read more…] about State Efforts Against EPA Rollbacks Applauded
Earth Day 50: A Recent History Of Environmentalism
I came of age in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It was a turbulent time in American history; marked by the rise of the antiwar movement (Vietnam, nuclear weapons) and the expansion of movements promoting equality for groups of marginalized people including woman, African Americans, Native Americans, and the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and/or questioning) community.
Many also consider the 60s and 70s to be the beginning of the modern American environmental movement; which is often portrayed as having started with the 1962 publication of Rachel Carson’s best-selling book, Silent Spring (thirty-one weeks on the New York Times best-seller list). The book described how the adverse environmental effects caused by the indiscriminate use of chemical pesticides threatened both animals and human beings. [Read more…] about Earth Day 50: A Recent History Of Environmentalism